Member Article

Rotherham IT firm looks to Russia and Germany for expansion

New Rotherham business Challenge IT Solutions is planning for global expansion, with the help and support of Rotherham Investment & Development Office Soft (RiDO’s) Landing Zone.

David Matthewman, managing director of Challenge IT Solutions, returned to the UK after the recession hit Cyprus where he was running an IT business, and is targeting Germany and Russia as key growth markets for the new firm.

David said: “It is very exciting to be back here in the UK offering IT solutions to both domestic clients and small businesses.

“I approached RiDO because I heard about the support the organisation offers to new businesses - their help has been hugely beneficial to me in these first few months in establishing my business in potentially high growth overseas markets.”

“Over the next couple of months, I plan to relocate to new premises in the Rotherham area and to appoint a trainee IT engineer, creating new employment opportunities.”

Julia Millea, business development co-ordinator for RiDO has supported Challenge IT Solutions by providing language services for his website into German and Russian.

Julie said: “We are delighted to be supporting David at this exciting time for his business. There is demand for cost effective IT services in Germany and Russia and we expect to see Challenge IT Solutions gain many new business opportunities in these countries.

“We are looking forward to providing the company with further support with overseas sales in the future.”

The Growth and Prosperity in Rotherham (Soft Landing Zone) project aims to assist Rotherham companies in accessing international markets and also helps foreign inward investors who choose to locate to RiDO’s business centres.

The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £842k investment from the European Regional Development Fund as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme 2007-13.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .